Fort Worth ISD teacher training was about reaching students, not critical race theory
Even though I’ve been out of the classroom for nearly a decade, my heart rate goes up in August as I think about teachers beginning a new school year. For them, it’s a stressful time. The past few very difficult years have only increased my empathy for teachers.
After COVID, teachers had to learn to do instruction online, with many challenges. Also, all over the country, parents were fed disinformation about masks and “freedom.” It made for some ugly confrontations including threats to administrators and teachers. In our polarized environment, public education has become a contact sport, with some school board meetings having more action than “WWE Smackdown!” And the last school year ended with the brutal slaughter of elementary school students in Uvalde.
Today’s teachers are a beleaguered lot, having to deal with fear of armed intruders and suspected by some to be mind control experts, whose mere mention of any topic will undermine the pillars of our seemingly fragile democracy. An opinion piece last week in the Star-Telegram, headlined “Fort Worth teachers told lesson planning is ‘political act,’ ” begins another school year of teachers being treated like political piñatas.
As a now-retired teacher with 17 years experience with Fort Worth ISD, I was disappointed that Carlos Turcios’ piece maligned a well-known educator, Dr. Jose Medina, who’s worked at the highly respected Center for Applied Linguistics and is a widely sought after speaker for professional development. He’s been described as a charismatic presenter, and his in-house training services for FWISD have been extremely well-received, I’m told. FWISD was lucky to get him.
Turcios states that Medina was trying “to train teachers to implement Critical Race Theory.” Having perused the handouts and communicated with someone who was there, I can tell you that is categorically false. Turcios cherry-picks a couple of pages from a 65-page document to make his assertion.
The afternoon presentation was about culturally responsive teaching, which, as Medina explains in the handouts, is less about race than it is about making connections between students’ experience, prior knowledge and the curriculum.
That is nothing particularly new. My goal as an ESL teacher was always to reach my students, then teach them. That is exactly what Medina was demonstrating. And crucially, these are not “woke” values. These are human values that help teachers do their jobs.
Turcios’ also mischaracterizes Medina’s book “Boys Don’t Cry” by claiming it promotes boys wearing dresses. It merely depicts Medina’s experiences being bullied for being gay when he was young. At the presentation, it was made clear to teachers that his books were optional and not to be used with students.
Turcios has done a disservice to Medina but more broadly to teachers who are tired of being scapegoats in some kind of political Punch and Judy show. Educators, schools and districts are not above criticism. Talk to teachers in private, and they’ll give you an earful. But is it too much to ask in 2022 that the criticism be fair?
Teachers and students have suffered through three extremely difficult years. Instead of criticism, we need your help. I invite anyone of any political stripe to volunteer at their local school. I guarantee it will change your life. You might be the one to help a child finally figure out how to read.
I also guarantee you’ll find out that teachers are not groomers or Communists – or even Democrats or Republicans, at least in the classroom. They are professionals trying their best to teach their students. And they deserve your support.
Ken Wheatcroft-Pardue is a retired ESL teacher and writer who lives in Fort Worth.
